Craighead County

History

Craighead County was part of the territory claimed for France on April 9, 1682, by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, who laid claim to all of the land drained by the Mississippi River and its tributaries. LaSalle's claim was named Louisiana in honor of Louis XIV, King of France.

The Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762) was signed between France and Spain and ownership of the Louisiana territory west of the Mississippi River was transferred to the Spanish crown as a result of the Seven Years' War and Craighead County became a Spanish possession.

Spain controlled the territory encompassing the county until October 1, 1800, when Napoleon Bonaparte forced Spain to return the lost territories to France under the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. Napoleon maintained grandiose plans to establish a vast French Empire in Louisiana but the Royal Navy prevented him from transferring troops or settlers to the acquired territories.

Fear was high in the United States that Napoleon would attempt to close the Mississippi River to American trade. President Thomas Jefferson inquired about purchasing an area near the mouth of the river to ensure that it would stay open to American goods. Napoleon, needing money, offered to sell the United States the entire territory of Louisiana for $23,213,568.

The treaty was finalized in 1803 and the land that would become Craighead County became the possession of the United States.

Craighead County remained in the Louisiana Territory until the State of Louisiana was admitted to the Union. At that time the territory that includes modern day Arkansas was attached to the Missouri Territory.

In 1813, the area was included in a new political subdivision known as Arkansas County which was a political subdivision of the Arkansas District of the Territory of Missouri. In 1815 the county was further subdivided and Lawrence County was formed with its seat at Davidsonville. This new county included most of what is now northern Arkansas. The modern Craighead County lay partially within Arkansas County and partially within Lawrence County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 713 square miles (1,850 km2), of which 707 square miles (1,830 km2) is land and 5.5 square miles (14 km2) (0.8%) is water. Crowley's Ridge is the county's most prominent geological feature.

Airport

The region is served by the Jonesboro Municipal Airport.

Adjacent counties

Greene County (north)

Dunklin County, Missouri (northeast)

Mississippi County (east)

Poinsett County (south)

Jackson County (west)

Lawrence County (northwest)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 111,231. The median age was 33.5 years. 24.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.3 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 72.5% White, 16.6% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.1% from some other race, and 5.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.0% of the population.

66.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 33.7% lived in rural areas.

There were 43,221 households in the county, of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.2% were married-couple households, 18.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 46,739 housing units, of which 7.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 55.8% were owner-occupied and 44.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.6%.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census, there were 82,148 people, 32,301 households, and 22,093 families residing in the county. The population density was 116 inhabitants per square mile (45/km2). There were 35,133 housing units at an average density of 49 per square mile (19/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 89.27% White, 7.78% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.93% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. 2.12% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 32,301 households, out of which 32.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.30% were married couples living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.60% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.10% under the age of 18, 14.00% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,425, and the median income for a family was $40,688. Males had a median income of $30,366 versus $21,109 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,091. About 11.60% of families and 15.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.40% of those under age 18 and 13.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the Constitution of Arkansas and the Arkansas Code. The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are called justices of the peace and are elected from county districts every even-numbered year. The number of districts in a county vary from nine to fifteen, and district boundaries are drawn by the county election commission. The Craighead County Quorum Court has thirteen members. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the county judge, who serves as the chief executive officer of the county. The county judge is elected at-large and does not vote in quorum court business, although capable of vetoing quorum court decisions.

In addition to the countywide offices, the Eastern District of Craighead County elects a deputy clerk and deputy sheriff. The eastern district officials as of the 2024 elections are:

Deputy Clerk: Lesia Couch (R)

Deputy Sheriff: Chris Kelems (R)

The composition of the Quorum Court after the 2024 elections is 12 Republicans and 1 Democrat. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:

District 1: Brad Noel (R) of Jonesboro

District 2: Garrett Barnes (D) of Jonesboro

District 3: Barry Forrest (R) of Jonesboro

District 4: Linda Allison (R) of Jonesboro

District 5: Rick Myers (R) of Jonesboro

District 6: Darrell Cook (R) of Jonesboro

District 7: Richard Rogers (R) of Jonesboro

District 8: David Tennison (R) of Jonesboro

Education

Public schools

Craighead County consists of eight public school districts with numerous secondary and elementary schools including:

Bay School District, including Bay High School (Bay)

Brookland School District, including Brookland High School (Brookland)

Buffalo Island Central School District, including Buffalo Island Central High School (Monette)

Greene County Tech School District (its high school, Greene County Tech High School, is in another county)

Jonesboro School District, including Jonesboro High School (Jonesboro)

Nettleton School District, including Nettleton High School (Jonesboro)

Riverside School District, including Riverside High School (Lake City)

Valley View School District, including Valley View High School (Jonesboro)

Westside Consolidated School District, including Westside High School (near Jonesboro)

Private schools

Ridgefield Christian School (Jonesboro) PK-12

Blessed Sacrament School (Jonesboro) KG-6

Concordia Christian Academy (Jonesboro) PK-6

First Presbyterian Preschool & Kindergarten (Jonesboro) PK-KG

Montessori School of Jonesboro (Jonesboro) PK-KG

Postsecondary education

Arkansas State University

Arkansas State University Newport - Jonesboro Technical Campus

Communities

Towns

Black Oak

Egypt

Census-designated place

Bowman

Other unincorporated communities

Childress

Gibson

Goobertown

Herman

Lester

Lunsford

Otwell

Townships

Townships in Arkansas are the divisions of a county. Each township includes unincorporated areas; some may have incorporated cities or towns within part of their boundaries. Arkansas townships have limited purposes in modern times. However, the United States census does list Arkansas population based on townships (sometimes referred to as "county subdivisions" or "minor civil divisions"). Townships are also of value for historical purposes in terms of genealogical research. Each town or city is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps and publications. The townships of Craighead County are listed below; listed in parentheses are the cities, towns, and/or census-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township.